This invention relates to devices, systems and methods for controlling and tracking medical items such as medical and surgical supplies. Particularly this invention relates to apparatus and methods for controlling and tracking medical items in hospitals, clinics or other health care settings.
The treatment of patients in hospitals, clinics and other health care settings usually involves receipt by the patient of medical items. These items may include prescription items such as drugs and medications. Medical treatment may also involve other nonprescription medical items such as medical and surgical supplies, as well as consumable medical equipment. To serve the needs of patients in a health care setting, sufficient stocks of such medical items must be kept available for use. Because such items may be relatively high in cost and/or relatively large quantities of such items may be consumed, it is important for the health care provider to accurately control and track the use of such items and to accurately allocate the charges associated with the use of such items to patients.
Systems and methods for tracking the use of medical items have been previously developed. Examples of such systems -and methods are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,404,384; 5,533,079; 5,790,409; 5,848,593; 5,912,818; 5,993,046; 6,019,249; 6,073,834; 6,112,506; 6,141,942; and 6,163,737, the disclosures of all of which are incorporated by reference as if fully rewritten herein.
While the previously developed systems provide useful devices and methods for tracking the use of medical items, further improvements are possible. Specifically, persons who must obtain medical and surgical supply items from storage may wish to do so more quickly while still maintaining adequate security and tracking of the items. In addition, persons who are taking such medical items from storage may often know exactly where a particular desired item is located and may benefit by being able to access and take the item with a minimum of delay. In other cases, persons may be unfamiliar with the location of a particular desired item. In such situations a person may benefit by having a system which guides the user to a particular item that they have indicated that they wish to find. In other situations, persons may wish to take from adjacent storage locations a number of different types of medical items. In such cases the medical professional taking such items may wish to take the items during a single occasion when a lockable storage cabinet or other controlled storage location has been opened. In such cases it may be useful for the person to indicate to the system the types and quantities of each medical item they are taking as quickly as possible.
Thus there exists a need for improved methods and systems for controlling and tracking the taking of medical items.
It is an object of an exemplary form of the present invention to provide a system for controlling and tracking medical items.
It is a further object of an exemplary form of the present invention to provide a system for controlling and tracking medical items that can be used to track the use of medical and surgical supplies.
It is a farther object of an exemplary form of the present invention to provide a system for controlling and tracking medical items that enables an authorized user to take items from storage and record such taking quickly.
It is a further object of an exemplary form of the present invention to provide a system for controlling and tracking medical items that enables a user to be guided to a storage location where a particular type medical item desired by the user is stored.
It is a further object of an exemplary form of the present invention to provide a system for controlling and tracking medical items that enables an authorized user to take and indicate the taking of a plurality of different types of medical items.
It is a further object of an exemplary form of the present invention to provide a method for controlling and tracking medical items which enables a user to indicate the taking of additional items or to change the indication of the types of items being taken after the user has gained access to a controlled access storage location.
It is a further object of an exemplary form of the present invention to provide a system for controlling and tracking medical items that includes a user interface that is readily used and operated by users taking medical items from controlled storage areas.
It is a further object of an exemplary form of the present invention to provide a system for controlling and tracking medical items that includes a storage cabinet with configurable shelves, which shelves include storage locations that may be correlated to input devices on a user interface.
It is a further object of an exemplary form of the present invention to provide a system for controlling and tracking medical items that includes a versatile storage cabinet structure.
It is a further object of an exemplary form of the present invention to provide a method for controlling and tracking the taking of medical items from controlled access storage areas within a storage cabinet.
It is a further object of an exemplary form of the present invention to provide a method for controlling and tracking the taking of medical items from a storage cabinet that enables users to indicate the types and quantities of medical items being taken proximate to the time of such taking.
It is a further object of an exemplary form of the present invention to provide a method for controlling and tracking the taking of medical items from a storage cabinet that includes the capabilities of guiding a user to a storage location for a requested type of medical item.
It is a further object of an exemplary form of the present invention to provide a method for controlling and tracking the taking of medical items from a storage cabinet that enables a user to indicate and change the types and quantities of medical items being taken once access to the cabinet has been gained.
It is a further object of an exemplary form of the present invention to provide a method for controlling and tracking the taking of medical items from a cabinet that provides fast and efficient tracking and removal of medical items.
Further objects of-exemplary forms of the present invention will be made apparent in the following Best Modes For Carrying Out Invention and the appended claims.
The foregoing objects are accomplished in an exemplary form of the present invention through use of a method and system which includes a storage cabinet for holding medical items such as medical and surgical supplies. The storage cabinet includes a plurality of lockable doors which control access to the interior thereof.
The cabinet includes a plurality of shelves in supporting connection with the interior of the cabinet. In embodiments of the invention the shelves may be stationary shelves or pullout type shelves. The shelves include storage locations or areas for storing medical items.
Certain shelves in exemplary embodiments of the invention include a shelf interface located adjacent a front portion of a storage shelf. The shelf interface comprises a user interface that includes a plurality of push buttons. The shelf interface further includes a plurality of visual indicators, each such indicator being uniquely associated with one of the plurality of buttons.
The shelf interface of the exemplary embodiment further includes a numerical keypad for manually inputting numerical values. The shelf interface further includes a shelf display for providing a visual output including quantity values. The exemplary embodiment of the shelf interface further includes a clear indicator that may be used for clearing inputs previously made to the system through input devices.
In the exemplary embodiment storage locations are correlated with particular buttons on the shelf interface. This is done in an exemplary embodiment by applying indicia such as corresponding self-adhesive labels to a storage location and to the corresponding button which may be used to indicate to the system the removal or addition of medical items stored in the storage location.
The exemplary embodiment of the present invention further includes a terminal that is accessible eternally relative to the cabinet. The terminal may be a display terminal of the type described in connection with the incorporated patent disclosures. The terminal enables users to provide inputs and receive outputs from one or more processors operating in connection with the system. In the exemplary embodiment the terminal may be used by a user to input user identifying information. The terminal in the exemplary embodiment may also be used for providing inputs from a user including selections related to patients, medical items, quantities or other values pertinent to the tracking of the medical items stored in the cabinet.
In the exemplary embodiment of the invention, an authorized user is enabled to obtain medical items from the cabinet and to record the taking thereof in at least two ways. In accordance with a first approach, a user after being identified as authorized to use the system, indicates their desire to generally access medical items stored in the storage cabinet. In response to an indicative input to the terminal, doors on the cabinet which control access items to which the particular user is authorized to have access, are unlocked. In the exemplary embodiment a visual indication is given to indicate which doors are unlocked. The user may then open these doors and take the medical items from the storage locations. To record the taking of each medical item, the user in the exemplary embodiment touches the button on the shelf interface corresponding to the storage location on the shelf from which a medical item is being taken to identify the particular type of medical item to the system. The user also inputs the quantity of the type medical item being taken from the identified storage location through the numerical keypad on the corresponding shelf interface. When the user inputs such a value, the value is displayed on the shelf display.
If the user should make a mistake in indicating the type or number of medical item being taken, the user may clear the incorrect input by pressing the clear indicator. The user may then enter correct type and quantity data. The user may repeat this process for a plurality of medical items located in different storage locations. Once the user has provided inputs to indicate the taking of medical items from the cabinet, the taking of such items is recorded in a data store.
Alternatively in the exemplary embodiment, a user may input information corresponding to a particular type medical item (or a plurality of types) that the user wishes to find within the cabinet. In response to an authorized user providing such inputs, the cabinet door (or doors) controlling access to the shelf or shelves, in which the selected medical items are stored, will unlock. The unlocking of the doors in the exemplary embodiment is indicated through activation of visual indicators associated with the doors. While taking such medical items, the visual indicators corresponding to the storage location identifying buttons will be activated to indicate to the user where the selected medical item or items are located. In the exemplary embodiment color-coding is used as the visual indicia, which correlates the buttons and the storage locations. This enables the user to quickly find the requested medical items even though each storage location is generally not in proximity to its corresponding visual indicator.
In the exemplary embodiment when the user is requesting of the system to xe2x80x9cfindxe2x80x9d medical items, the quantity of each particular item requested is displayed through the shelf display. In cases where multiple items from the same shelf have been selected, the user can verify the quantity of each item that they have previously selected through the display terminal by touching the particular button corresponding to the item. This causes the selected quantity to be output through the display. Further in the exemplary embodiment, in the event that the user determines once they have accessed a storage location that they wish to take different quantities or other types of medical items, they may do so through use of the clear indicator and the buttons and numerical keypad on the shelf interface. Such approaches enable a user to modify or add to the types and quantities of medical items being notified to the system as taken during the course of a single occasion when the particular storage shelf is accessed. Once the user has provided the corresponding inputs and taken all of the desired medical items, the taking of such items is recorded in a database.